San Diegans are buying properties worth $1 million or more at the fastest pace in seven years.

For the first half of 2014, 1,876 high-priced homes changed hands, up 12.7 percent from the same period in 2013. The second quarter with 1,134 sales was the best quarter since the same quarter in 2007, CoreLogic DataQuick reported Thursday.

San Diego's north city neighborhood of Carmel Valley ranked fourth statewide in second-quarter sales at 136, behind No. 1 Manhattan Beach in Los Angeles at 146; Marin County's Hillsborough at 144; and the 95120 ZIP code of San Jose at 137.

La Jolla, which ranked ninth at 110 sales, was the only other San Diego County ZIP code listed among the top 25.

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While the top market statewide was up 9.1 percent year-over-year in sales, the overall housing market for the second quarter was down 7.4 percent over the same period.

While San Diego County median prices inch up month by month, their June level of $450,000 was still $67,500 or 13 percent below the all-time peak of $517,500 set in November 2005.

"It's always fascinating to watch this part of the real estate market," said DataQuick analyst Andrew LePage. "It behaves differently, responds to its own set of criteria. These buyers, especially those in the multi-million-dollar market, are less likely to agonize over credit scores, income and job security, down payments and mortgage interest rates."

Like prices, sales activity San Diego County and rest of the state have yet surpass their records of a decade ago. But the 265 homes that sold statewide for $5 million or more in the second quarter set a new record.

In San Diego, the high-end's momentum seems to have picked up in coastal neighborhoods but lagged in Rancho Santa Fe, the historic leader in price levels.

Peggy Chodorow, a La Jolla-based real estate agent with Berkshire Hathaway Home Services, said the ranch still lists the most high-end homes, but more sales are taking place in La Jolla and the Del Mar area.

"It’s the proximity to the ocean, it’s the charm of the village, it’s the accessibility to downtown and all the biotech companies," she said.

The highest priced sale in San Diego County in the second quarter was this 5,870-square-foot home in La Jolla that sold for $13 million, according to county records.
— Google Maps Street View

The highest priced sale in San Diego County in the second quarter was this 5,870-square-foot home in La Jolla that sold for $13 million, according to county records.
/ Google Maps Street View

One home onFirst Street in Coronado sold twice in the same day, first for $8.6 million and then for $10.25 million. Scott Aurich, one of the agents on the deal, said the second buyer was pleased because the eight-bedroom, 7,228-square-foot house had been in escrow for $11.5 million.

Currently, the most expensive home for sale in the county is a 1,400-acre horse estate in Bonsall, listed at $55.6 million. Clinton Selfridge, the colisting broker at Pacific Sotheby's International Realty, said Vessels Ranch includes a 7,865-square-foot home and several other residences, room for 400 horses and the opportunity to subdivide the land into as many as 400 mini-estates.

"There might be some very wealthy person who would want contiguous acreage," Selfridge said. "That's very difficult to find, especially that close to the ocean. It's a whole river valley, beautiful property."

Million-dollar home sales, 2000-2014

Homes sold for $1 million or more in San Diego County, by quarter

Source: CoreLogic DataQuick

ROGER SHOWLEY • UT

The Greater San Diego Association of Realtors' multiple listing service shows that sales of million-dollar-plus homes in the first half of each year have grown from 538 in 2009 to 1,342 this year, according to communications coordinator David Pedersen. He gave the highest price paid so far this year as $14.5 million for a home in Del Mar.

Statewide, San Francisco and Santa Clara are the only two counties to have posted record sales of million-dollar-plus homes in the second quarter, making the Bay Area the only region to have done so, according to DataQuick.

Southern California is still 30.3 percent below its peak, the mid-coastal counties remains 53.3 percent below its peak and the state is 19.3 percent behind. San Diego is 28.9 percent short of its peak of 1,595 big sales.

Selfridge said San Diego remains a secondary market in the eyes of high-roller buyers. For all its beauty and posh cache, Rancho Santa Fe hasn't posted a sale in the $10 million-plus range since 2008; there are 14 properties in the category currently listed.

"You're just not seeing the big international money pouring into the city yet," Selfridge said. "I think where we live will do well in the future. Once those markets become more saturated, people will hopefully realize San Diego is a good value in comparison to other Southern California locations."